Pizza Hut plans to close 250 U.S. restaurants early this year as part of a program of improved marketing and technology as parent company Yum Brands continues its strategic review of the struggling pizza chain.
CEO Chris Turner said that the company’s review of Pizza Hut, which could lead to a sale of the brand, is “proceeding as planned” and expects it to be complete this year.
Yet the company isn’t waiting to take steps to improve the brand’s position. Speaking on the company’s fourth quarter earnings call on Wednesday, CFO Ranjith Roy described an agreement with “stakeholders” called “Hut Forward,” which “represents a bridge to a longer-term acceleration of the brand.”
Details were not available, but he mentioned a “vibrant marketing program, modernization of certain technology and franchise agreements.”
“While we don’t share specific details of franchise agreements, we are pleased to be working in partnership with our franchisees on increased efforts to deliver near-term sales while advancing long-term strategy,” the company said in an emailed statement.
(Was Pizza Hut’s shift away from full-service a mistake?)
Pizza Hut has long struggled to generate consistent sales, but its performance has deteriorated more recently.
Same-store sales declined 3% in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, its ninth straight decline and 10th straight quarter of flat or negative results in the key metric. Since the first quarter of 2022, Pizza Hut’s same-store sales have declined 12 of 16 quarters.
That has worsened the chain’s already weak standing in a largely saturated pizza market. The chain’s unit volumes are the lowest among the four big pizza chains, including Domino’s, Little Caesars and Papa Johns, by about $200,000 per year.
Yum Brands promoted Turner to CEO last year and he almost immediately announced a strategic review of the chain, which typically means the company is looking to sell the brand.
Pizza Hut’s U.S. system sales last year declined 7%, not including the lapping of an extra week in 2024. That includes a 5% decline in same-store sales for the full year, which implies the company closed a net of about 130 restaurants. The 250 locations to be closed this year would be shuttered in the first half of 2026.
“We are taking focused, short-term actions on Pizza Hut, focused on the execution of the strategic review,” Turner said. He called it “the right answer for the brand as we move through the strategic review.”
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